Menu

chocolate cake recipe

While you are reading this i will be baking birthday cake number two and preparing for the arrival of the in-laws. I’m fairly sure a one year old needs no came rather than two of them.

Yesterdays chocolate cake was a complete and utter success. Small children clamoured for the sickly chocolatey goodness. It tastes extra chocolatey because of the coffee I added to both the batter and the icing. I may or may not have mentioned this to the parents. Yeah, I didn’t. I had the foresight to use decaffeinated coffee in the batter but negated that by putting ground up instant coffee in the icing. It really makes a difference and I know this because I did frequent taste tests.

Sponge
200g caster sugar

2 heaped tbsp dark cocoa powder

100g self-raising flour

200g Plain flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150ml sunflower oil (I like cold-pressed)

2 tsp cider vinegar or lemon juice

250ml milk (I use soya)

150ml brewed cooled coffee

Pre heat the oven to 180C and grease, line and dust with cocoa powder two shallow 8 inch cake tins). Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and put all the wet ingredients in a jug. When the oven is hot mix the wet ingredients into the dry.

Pour the mixture into the greased cake tin (or divide equally between the two tins). Bake for approx 40-50 minutes if using one tin (20-30 if using two smaller cake tins). The times are a bit vague as I have found that different ovens vary hugely and different batches of ingredients differ. The cake should be light and springy and an inserted skewer or sharp knife should come out clean. Leave in the tin to cool slightly then turn out onto a wire rack to cool

While the cake was in the oven I also made big fat delicious cookies because it was a shame not to once the oven had heated up. They are too good. Using a food mixer for these made all the difference when mixing the sugar, margarine and sunflower oil. Do it by hand and you get a disgusting, curdled, separating mess. The machine emulsifies it all nicely. I thought I had posted the recipe for these somewhere but I can’t find it right now. I might share it.

(I was going to do a post tomorrow all about giving birth a year ago but quickly realised that no one needs to know about episiotomies. Or what they sound like when you get one. I’m more or less recovered now but sometimes, late at night, I can still hear those scissors!!